Apparatus for storing fluids underground



April 13, 1943- e. R; BENZ ETAL 8 APIARATUS FOR STORING FLUIDSUNDERGROUND v Filed May 19,1959 2 Sheets- -Sheet 1 INVENTOR G. BENZ H.R; ZEIGLE R April G. R. BENZETAL 2,316,308

APPARATUS FOR STORING FLUIDS UNDERGROUND Filed May 19, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet 2 .lll

NLAII INVENTOR c. R. s H. R: ZEIGLER ENZ Patented Apr. 13, 1943APPARATUS FOR STORING FLUIDS UNDERGROUND George R. Benz and Harry R.Zeigler, Detroit,

Mich, assignors to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of DelawareApplication May 19, 1939, Serial No. 274,622

3 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for storing fluids in undergroundcontainers. The invention is adapted to the underground storage of manytypes of fluids including various liquids, such as refined gasoline,natural gasoline and liquefied gases.

The usual practice heretofore in the underground storage of fluids hasbeen to bury the storage container below the surface of the ground andprovide a protective chamber extending from the container to the surfaceof the ground to encase the necessary pipes, valves and fittings. Ourinvention contemplates the use or a simplified and more compactarrangement of apparatus and presents a number of advantages over theapparatus employed in the past. The fluid container is completely buriedin the earth except for the riser pipe and the tank is consequently wellinsulated against atmospheric temperature changes. A comparativelyshallow and narrow handhole or chamber, having its cover substantiallylevel with the surface of the ground, receives and protects the upperend of the riser pipe and all valves, fittings and control devices thatmay be mounted thereupon. Since we use a short handhole ring instead ofthe usual type of easing which extends to the container, appreciableeconomies are effected in the cost of the same. By constructing thisring with an open bottom, ground water drains freely therethrough. Also,our handhole assembly will readily, and without damage to any of theother parts of our apparatus, absorb shocks such as those caused bytrucks passing over the cover.

One of the outstanding features of our invention resides in thesupporting means for the handhole ring. This supporting structure mayconsist of a three-armed spider which is made up of two identicalmembers that are adapted to encircle the riser pipe. The spider isdesigned to rest on the ground at the bottom of the handhole and supportthe handhole ring in spaced relation to the riser pipe and any controlequipment that may be mounted on the riser pipe. The following are amongthe major advantages obtainable by the use of our spider: It can bequickly and easily installed or removed without in any way disturbingany equipment that may be supported on the riser pipe in the handholespace; it slidably embraces the riser pipe to permit of relativemovement with respect to the riser pipe in the event that the containeris moved upwardly by a heaving action of the earth or if the handholering is pushed downwardly by a load on its cover; it can be rotatedabout the riser pipe so that the handhole ring may be eccentricallyinstalled in any desired position with respect to the riser pipe; and,most important of all, the spider properly aligns the handhole ring atall times and allows for a wide range of ad- J'ustability with regard tohaving the top of the manhole cover at the ground level. Compared toformer practice, it is obviously a distinct advantage to be able toquickly and accurately align the top of the handhole ring and its coverwith the surface of the ground after the tank has been set in place,rather than to have to raise and lower the tank in order to accomplishthis result.

This invention has for its primary object the providing of simplified,compact, and dependable apparatus for use in storing fluids inunderground containers.

Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus of thecharacter indicated which is adapted to be readily and inexpensivelyinstalled.

It is a further object of this invention to provide underground fluidstorage apparatus which is constructed and arranged to withstand impactsfrom moving bodies on the surface of the ground without damage to anypart of the equipment.

These and additional objects and advantages will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art by reference to the following specification and an- 1nexed drawings which respectively describe and illustrate a preferredembodiment of our invention, and wherein Figure 1 is an elevation viewpartly in cross section, showing a complete installation of theapparatus employed in this invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of the spider assembly;

Figure 3 is a plan view of one member of the spider; and

Figure 4 is an elevation view of the spider member depicted in Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings, we have denoted therein an underground fluidstorage tank or container I0, horizontally disposed at a suitabledistance below the surface of the ground ll. While either a horizontalor a vertical container may be advantageously employed, we prefer thehorizontal type, primarily because a shallower hole is required toreceive it. Hard digging, such as when rock is encountered, is thusminimized; and, there is less danger of flotation by high ground waterwith a horizontal container than with the vertical type. Rigidly mountedto the center of the upper part of the container is a riser pipe 12which extends upwardly and terminates at a point below the surface ofthe ground in a handhole l3. The upper end of the riser pipe is providedwith an element [4 which may either be a conventional form of closure ora connector establishing communication between the riser pipe andcontrol devices, generally indicated by reference numeral l5, dependingupon the needs of the particular system. Handhole I3 is enclosed by asuitable housing such as a handhole ring [5 which has an open bottom Hand a removable top cover H3. The practice of our invention contemplatesinstalling the handhole housing so that its top end and cover are bothsubstantially flush with the ground level.

A spider assembly 19, resting on the ground at the bottom of thehandhole, supports the handhole housing [6 in spaced relationship to theupper end of the riser pipe and any control equipment that may bemounted thereupon. The details of construction of the spider assemblywill be readily understood by reference to Figures 2, 3 and 4 of thedrawings. Ihe main elements of the spider assembly are a pair ofidentical V- shaped members 20, each having a semi-circular opening 2|and arms 22. Near the end of each arm 22 is a shoulder 23 on both theupper and lower faces of members 23 to engage the inner surface of thhandhole ring and maintain the same in proper position. As we have shownin Figure 2, the spider is assembled to slidably engage the riser pipeby connecting means, such as bolts 24 and 25 which respectively passthrough apertures 26 and 27. It should be noted that, by virtue of ourspider construction, the members 22 are interchangeable and can beinstalled with either face up or down. It should be further noted thatour spider assembly engages the riser pipe eccentrically so that thehandhole housing mayproperlyaccommodateanycontrol equipment that may belocated in the handhole space. While the illustrated embodiment shows aspider assembly intended to locate th handhole housing eccentricallywith respect to the riser pipe, it is to be clearly understood that,when desirable, it is merely a matter of mechanical skill to modify thespider design to centrally locate the riser pipe with respect to thehandhole ring.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction, operation andadvantages of our present invention will be readily comprehended bypersons skilled in the art. It is to be clearly understood, however,that the form of our invention herewith shown and described is to betaken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in thesize, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to Withoutdeparting from the spirit of this invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. A support comprising a pair of generally V- shaped interchangeablemembers, means for pivotally connecting the members near their apices,each member including a plurality of substantially coplanar outwardlyprojecting arms, one arm of one member extending alongside of a like armof the other member, each of said two arms having a recess defining anopening when the members are assembled eccentrically disposed withrespect to said pivot point, the other arms of the members beingdisposed in diverging relationship, the outer end of each arm beingnotched.

2. In fluid storage apparatus wherein a, riser pipe extends upwardlyfrom an underground container to a point below the surface of the groundand has its upper end protectively encased in a housing having a tubularvertical wall which is open at the bottom and which is provided with acover at the top to permit access to the interior thereof, theimprovement comprising a spider assembly including a pair ofinterchangeable members, a plurality of substantially coplanar armsintegral with each member, said members being pivoted at a pointsubstantially equidistant from the ends of said arms, the ends of saidarms being provided with shoulders for engagement with the lowerperipheral edge of the housing, the central portion of said spiderhaving an opening eccentric of the pivot point when said members areassembled for loosely receiving the riser pipe and maintaining thehousing in spaced relationship with said riser pipe.

3. A support comprising a pair of generally V-shaped interchangeablemembers, means for pivotally connecting the members near their apices,each member including a plurality of substantially coplanar outwardlyprojecting arms. one arm of one member extending alongside of a like armof the other member, means securing th last mentioned arms together tomaintain said members in fixed relationship, each of two arms having arecess defining an opening when the members are assembled eccentricallydisposed with respect to said pivot point, the other arms of the membersbeing disposed in diverging relationship, the outer end of each armbeing notched.

GEORGE R. BENZ. HARRY R. ZEIGLER.

